Sisolak tests negative for COVID-19

CARSON CITY — Gov. Steve Sisolak has tested negative for COVID-19 following a positive diagnosis for a Carson City-based member of his staff, his office announced Wednesday.

The governor, working in Las Vegas since mid-September, has not been in contact with the unidentified staffer since leaving the capital but underwent another test out of caution on Tuesday after the employee’s positive result was reported.

The employee was last in the office Friday and developed symptoms over the weekend. The person has been interviewed, and contact tracing efforts are underway to notify close contacts.

Other staffers in the Carson City office are quarantining for 14 days and working from home pending tests.

Sisolak was to return to Carson City next week but will put off the trip for the time being.

The governor’s office has declined to answer additional questions about the positive test case or the possible exposure of other staff members, including how many might have been exposed. Asked how often the governor is tested, Communications Director Meghin Delaney said Sisolak seeks testing “when he thinks he may have been exposed” or “out of an abundance of caution.” The governor plans to receive more regular testing going forward, she said.

Other staff members who worked in the governor’s Capitol office in the past two weeks and were in contact with the worker began their 14-day quarantine Monday. All must test negative for COVID-19 before reporting back to the office after their quarantine, per standard health protocols.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.